The officially unofficial site for details and discussion about the history and legacy of Mike Porco's Center of Folk Music, Gerde's Folk City (&other pertinent stuff)
Showing posts with label Larry "Ratso" Sloman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Larry "Ratso" Sloman. Show all posts
Bob Dylan Acknowledges his New York Father before a packed house at MSG in 1975
Bob Dylan was busy in the Summer and Fall of 1975. He was spending a lot of time in Greenwich Village and surrounds.
🎼He was recording the Desire album and assembling the troops for the Rolling Thunder tour. This is a snippet of the Gerde's Folk City doc pointing just how important Mike Porco was to Bob Dylan.The first leg of the Rolling Thunder Tour culminated in a benefit concert for framed-boxer Reuben 'Hurricane' Carter at the World's Most Famous Arena. Mike was there to the delight of Dylan.
They had both come a long way from Dylan's first weeks in NYC in 1961 when Mike sponsored Dylan's Union and Cabaret cards as his PARENTAL GUARDIAN. AND Mike gave Bobby a little red wine and roast beef. Not a bad deal.
The Italian immigrant found himself on the stage at Madison Square Garden with all of his famous friends.
🚨The GerdesFolkCityDoc is a SUBSCRIPTION ONLY VIDEO.🚨 Subscribe for free to get free content. Pay for a subscription to get access to the Folk City documentary.
Help me gain 600 new subscribers so the unbelievable tale of Mike Porco can be told🎥🏆🍿🎼🍿🏆🌎🤌🏼 This link will take you directly to the post with the GerdesFolkCityDoc🎼🎼🎼🎼🎼👇🏽 🙏 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 https://bobporco86.substack.com/p/documentary-on-mike-porcos-folk-music
Built in 2014, used as a naked base reel for another clip with images and music, held on tightly and stowed away in a harddrive, laying in wait for the right deal, THIS clip is mostly about how Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Review began on Mike Porco's 61st birthday at Folk City.
Savvy tech peeps will recognize the reel as just the first layer saved from a video program unbothered by Ken Burns style images and copywritten music. It's youtube friendly. THANKS to Rob Stoner, Ratso Sloman, Angelo Porco and my dad RIP Bob Sr you have the whole story. Dan Behrman supplied the voice of Mike Porco.
It's been a long time coming. Nine fookin years later, it sits. I'd like to give this and part 2 of 'Dylan talk assembly" away. The rest is for sale.
In the words of David Bowie, "I can't give everything away." But wait, wait, there's more.
The ending is a glowing description by Ratso and Stoner of Mike Porco the man, how they viewed him in history and how they felt about him. Three Cheers!
Rolling Thunder Revue observations by Rob Stoner, Larry Sloman, Rod MacDonald and my father, Bob Sr
A Father's Day post for the men in my life. Mike Porco did something so noble and good in his lifetime that he is my all time hero. I forgive him for not coming around to birthday parties too much. He was busy at his club getting people together.
My grandfather made his film debut in Martin Scrorses's Rolling Thunder Re-Vue. Look again, you'll see him. Camera A resting on his shoulder like a pirate's parrot, it shows Bobby's face as he greeted his surrogate father on his birthday. BIG KISS on Mike's cheek. A second big kiss on Bob's cheek. Knocks his hat off. Sweet. Sweet!
And then he was gone. Out of picture. But the vibe at Folk City was thickly captured for a couple minutes immediately after. Patti Smith handed my grandfather a tiny horse as a gift. The birthday cake fell on the cabaret carpet.
''What a mess''
What's important is that the moment was used in the film. I'm proud and happy that Mr. Porco was recognized by Martin Scorsese and the look on Mr. Dylan's face was worth the price(s) of admission. The respect shown profusely by Bob Neuwirth is gushing out of the silver screen. Mike has that kind of energy to this day. I think I saw my grandfather lunge at another man in order to kiss him. But I'll have to watch the flick again to see for myself.
'The hug' was the image I was expecting to see when I caught up with the June 12 release. Lincoln Center is a walkable jaunt from my apartment through the Park and I bought two consecutive showings. The first show had much laughter by a large crowd. The second show was curiously quieter.
Like when Dylan says, 'Allen Ginsberg was a great dancer' or that he doesn't remember Von Dorp it's taken as fact because the audience trusts Bob implicitly.
I was hopeful as I watched the rest of the film. Would they come back to Folk City again towards the end, I asked. You'll have to see for yourself. I was not disappointed although I thought they would show Bob and Joan perform at Folk City after midnight of the birthday party. Maybe we heard a bit and don't quite know.
Another wonderful clip Martin Scorsese chose was the scene at the bar.
Do you like my dress?
Why'd you get married?!
Why'd you get married before me!?
Thinking will fuck you up.
THIS MYTH GOES TO ELEVEN
Are we watching touches of Spinal Tap or just an inside joke?
Some Twitterati are upset that there are 4 instances where Martin Scorsese takes poetic license.
Firstly, for those who write reviews of the Revue, ball the critique up and shove it high up. Do these people watch the discovery channel and critique the dusting methods of the archeologist in the pit with the bones? please
I call this clip observations of the birthday party. Before it was a Tour, it had to be-a Birthday Party for someone somewhere with witnesses processing the event. Cool. (That's what I have here for youtube view. I'm even posting my own observations directly to the Google cloud before I save these words. Take it leave it ball it up wait for it in the Positively Porco doc)
Secondly, the slight of hand Martin Scorsese tossed in did not diminish the stunning footage he chose to use. Kudos and many thanks for that.
Scorsese didn't choose any apparent long shots from the back of the hall. Any long shots were from the stage out. The rest of the time, he chose on-stage camera shots and front row shots from under Bob's hat.
Not much else for the songs. Seemingly, 3 or 4 songs were from the same show. Awesome. Count the hairs in the brow. Study.
Many shots punch one in the face from the screen. Mick Ronson sounds so FUCKING GOOD with these remasters. The camera kneels at his feet.
Stoner, Howie Wyeth, Mansfield et al all speak for themselves in the film. So tight it's hard to imagine what supergroup could be assembled with todays players. Untouchable tightness.
Yet the film put us all on the Stage. Right there in plain sight of other camera and sound men. Von DorFP was off that day.
Which also makes me think that it would be silly to ask Mike Porco, or Stoner or Ratso or Scarlet Rivera for a review of the movie. They were inside. I bet they rest easy seeing what 2:22 was used. It took 44 years. Nuff Said.
This clip is part-a something else I've made for the film on Gerdes I'm doing. Patience is a thing.
This small audio talk is about the preamble with a little street action with Dave Van Ronk thrown in. It ends with a note from the Dec 8, 1975 concert. Stoner, Ratso and my father continue on speaking in film in the 'big clip' to discuss the tour and Phil Ochs.
By the way, as far as my observations (not a review) go, I saw Phil Ochs, Grandpa, David Blue, 3rd Street, Highways, byways, friends like Ramblin Jack, Stoner Ratso, Eric Andersen and Scarlet. The emotion and energy in Bob's voice during this period was for all to see.
This is a small portion of rough cut 5.0 from the Folkumentary on Gerde's Folk City and my grandfather, Mike Porco.
This is an audio teaser. The film, when complete, will certainly astound you and please the Folk gods.
Thanks to Ratso Sloman, John P. Hammond, Sonny Ochs, Terre Roche, Alan Wasser and Dan Behrman (for providing Mike Porco's voice from 1979). Thanks to David Massengill and Elijah Wald (The Mayor of Macdougal Street)
In October of 1975, Mr. Dylan was hanging around the Village quite often.
He was wrapping up his recording sessions for the DESIRE album and was spending time
with lyricist and Broadway producer, Jaques Levy, in New York. They were plotting a tour. What kind of tour…?
only they knew.
Dylan had returned to the road with The Band in 1974. His most critically acclaimed album,
(perhaps ever)
BLOOD ON THE TRACKS, was on the store shelves for less than a year. The Basement tapes
had finally been released only 4 months prior.
His fans were eager for more. He had returned to the front of the pack with a vengeance.
Any ol' tour could have satisfied. But Dylan had something majestic in mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack Hardy, Odetta, Mike Porco
Well, it turned out that Mike Porco was having a birthday.
Folksinger Jack Hardy had it in mind to gather some of Mike's friends
(read: musicians) and throw him a surprise party at his own club.
Thursday October 23rd 1975 was his 61st birthday. Mathematicians and can
deduce that today would be Mike's 101st birthday.
We had a 100th party for Grandpa last year. BUT TODAY
we celebrate THE ROLLING THUNDER REVUE
being born this day 40 years ago at FOLK CITY.
David Amram, David Massengill, Rob Stoner amongst Mike Porco's friends
celebrating Mike's 100th last year
So….back to 1975! Jack Hardy quietly spread word around that Mike will have a surprise serenade for his birthday. Word travels fast in this small town. Mike's old friend and prodigal son, Bob Dylan, got wind of the bash and decided that ''tonight is the night.'' The tour he was plotting with Levy will be brought to the light at Folk City.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dylan had confided in his DESIRE bass player, Rob Stoner, that, with some help, ''auditions'' were going to be held at Folk City for the stage show he had planed with Levy. There was nothing specific discussed, but like lightning, a buzz was generated around NYC that Dylan was going to crash Hardy's party for Mike.
Dylan also had it in mind to record the entire tour on film. This night would become part of the film Renaldo and Clara. Cameras and lights were set up at Folk City with a little lie told to Mike that it was for a documentary on Folk Music.
Mr. Ratso's first novel is the stupendous and tremendous chronicle of the legendary 'ROLLING THUNDER REVUE' starring Bob Dylan and his troupe of troubadours. The book is the most intimate and complete account of how the tour developed and rolled on through the historic first leg. Near the end of the tome, Larry has included the most extensive interview with Mike Porco known to exist in print.
Ratso and Porco crossed paths backstage at Madison Square Garden during the 'Night of the Hurricane,' a concert devoted to springing Ruben Carter from jail for something he never done. It was a cause Bob Dylan was committed to which the book and song 'Hurricane' explains in full. He coulda been the champion of the world, ya know.
Nearly 5 pages of ON THE ROAD WITH BOB DYLAN was given to Mike Porco's conversation. In the background, the concert rages on. It's classic. Mike tells early stories of making sandwiches for the young Dylan and encouraging him to comb his hair once in a while. Mike tells the story of visiting Dylan in France where they shared some Father/Son moments. If you need confirmation from anyone that the two shared THAT kind of relationship, read the book.
Larry consults the Old Testament
Of course, the ROLLING THUNDER REVUE kicked off at Folk City on Mike Porco's 61st surprise birthday party on October 23rd 1975. Bob Dylan has footage and hundreds have the memory of the night. Ratso's book has it in black and white.
Our interview was conducted in the Village Underground, the space that was once Mike Porco's office at 130 W3rd Street. If walls could talk….
Incidentally, Ratso and I hung out 53 years to the date of Bob Dylan's first appearance on stage at the original W4th Street Gerde's. After proving to Mike that he was at least 18 years old, he played the HOOT. You may know the rest.
It was an unseasonably warm Thursday in late October of 1975. It was Mike Porco's 61st birthday. It had been sixteen years since he first invited acoustic music performers into his Italian restaurant. They came to Gerde's in droves as the 1960s began and New York's first open mike night was born out of necessity. The term "talent night" was voted down so Greenwich Village's first Folk-only cabaret (read: paying room) borrowed a term from Pete Seeger and dubbed its singer/songwriter amateur night the Hootenanny. One of those amateurs in particular was set to return to Folk City to wish Mike a Happy Birthday in person.
In 1961, a young man from the Midwest tried to work his way onto the stage at Folk City. Being so young and looking even younger, Mike told the boy to return the following Monday with proof of age before he could allow him to play. In February of 1961, Bobby Dylan, two weeks removed from his Minnesota departure, played his first Hoot and made himself known to the Gerde's crowd.
Gerde's, meanwhile, became known for showcasing only established and up-and-coming recording artists for their weekly bookings. Back then, a union booking consisted of 12 sets over 5 nights. The Monday night Hoots were taken very seriously by the unknown performers but for the headliners, this gig was their bread and butter. Touring stars like Ed McCurdy, Liam Clancy and Tommy Makem, Brother John Sellers, Carolyn Hester, Sandy Bull, Cisco Houston, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, The Tarriers, John Lee Hooker, The Greenbriar Boys and Rev. Gary Davis were among Gerde's first year's performers. There was no shortage of outstanding talent and entertainment in the Village back then and it only begat more quality singer-songwriters to sign up for the Hoots.
Throughout the years, thousands of music lovers witnessed music history written on Gerde's stage. By 1975, thousands more musicians had come to New York City to make their own contribution to the Greenwich Village Folk Music Scene. Arguably, none were more successful, more influential or more monumental in reviving the world's interest in Folk than Bob Dylan. During the first decade and a half of his career, he helped define and then RE-define the Folk Rock genre itself.
Even so, Bob Dylan had had ups and downs on his career path. The 1966 motorcycle accident, the retreat from touring and not-so-well received releases of Planet Waves and Self Portrait had some believing that his best days were behind him. With the '75 release of "Blood on the Tracks," he had re-established his place as the premier songwriter of his generation. The follow up album, "Desire," had silenced critics further and this period has been looked back upon as one of his most productive and best sounding eras of his life. He was ripe for a tour.
Unbenownst to Mike Porco, his place was chosen as the first venue to see and hear the spectacle that became known as the Rolling Thunder Revue.
Larry "Ratso" Sloman has graced us with the most intimate account of the tour in his book "On The Road With Bob Dylan." From the final studio sessions for the Desire album to the Night of The Hurricane, Ratso takes us backstage, onstage and into the semi-private moments surrounding the music legend making history. How the Rolling Thunder Revue wound up at Folk City is told with spectacular detail.
In a nutshell, Dylan was recording in NYC. Word had travelled around the Village that Mike Porco was having a small birthday party organized for him by relative newcomer Jack Hardy and other club regulars. Dylan, Jacques Levy, Roger McGuinn and others were known to be socializing after hours at the White Horse Tavern and other back rooms at the time. Mention of Mike's birthday reached Bobby and the impulse to gather at Gerde's for an intimate party took hold. From there, it wasn't long before the rattle of Dylan's unannounced gig was passed on in tight circles around town.
Folk singer Rod MacDonald retold his story to me about how word got to him. He was waking from a late-day slumber that Thursday afternoon and haappened upon the Mayor of MacDougal Street, Dave Van Ronk. They shared a few blocks walking together when someone came up to Dave to tell him that old friend Bobby would be playing a "secret" engagement that night at Gerde's. Dave, less than thrilled to see Bob's entourage worshiping at his feet, let out a big sigh and said he was only going to pop in to wish Mike a Happy day but he wasn't sticking around. He turned to Rod, however, and said "You should go. You shouldn't miss it."
Rod was in good company. In the growing crowd were such luminaries as Bette Midler, David Blue, Phil Ochs and Allen Ginsberg. People were "hanging from the rafters" and, as Rod recalled, a strange vibe engulfed the club. It seemed that everyone knew that Dylan was in town but Mike. Earlier, a film and camera crew had assembled in the club telling Mike that it was all being set up for a TV special on the local public station, Channel 13. The lighting etc was actually a set up for the filming of "Renaldo and Clara." Several hours of the night were filmed there but only a few seconds were used in the movie. As it turned out, the last known footage of Phil Ochs was taken that night.
Jack Hardy and the duel act undercard played full sets that night even after Dylan had arrived. He was dropped off at the curb and as my father remembers, the sea of people split down the middle to allow Gerde's Own to sit right at the stage. No announcements were made for some time. Performers just got on the stage and took over where Hardy left off. The illustrious Rosie, the occasional MC, was plucked from the crowd to perform her duties quite unplanned. Eventually Dylan got up and was reunited on stage for the first time in 7 years with old flame, Joan Baez. A scant many pictures exist from that night but one photo shows them on the tiny stage at Folk City with Eric Andersen. The night ended in the wee hours with Buzzy Linhart and Bette Midler perfoming their hit, Friends.
*********************
Oh, by the way, a cake was presented to my Grandfather and happy birthday was sung by all of his friends and admirers. It was promptly dropped face down onto the floor of Folk City. Very apt indeed. (wink) What mattered most to him, as he was quoted as saying, was that they all had a chance to get together again. Such as the music business was in the mid-seventies, singers could no longer make a living in their own neighborhoods any more. Some had to be on the road constantly. Others were forced to get real jobs. And others, like Judy Collins or Paul Simon, were too large to play a 90 person room anymore. But, for the most part, whenever they had a chance, they'd stop in to see Mike and wish him well. Even Bobby Dylan, at the height of his career, this date all those years ago.
